Mike Rossi named 2013 Boyertown Idol

BOYERTOWN — Good news travels like ripples over water. In this case, news of Adam Moyer’s Soundfactor Entertainment and the Berks-Mont Business Association’s Boyertown Idol held on Tuesday, June 11, must have traveled like a tidal wave.

Eager contestants threatened to surround and drown Adam at every try out location. He persevered and delivered perhaps what may have been the finest Boyertown Idol lineup to date. The breezy but beautiful weather helped bring the Boyertown Idol fans out in droves. It was definitely a record turnout.

Kicking the night off in true Boyertown Idol tradition, 2012’s winner, Richard Thomas, revisited his winning rendition of Queen’s “Need Somebody to Love,” wowing the audience before taking his position at the 2013 judging table.

First up in this year’s competition was the smooth, bluesy sounds of Nikki Stone singing the Alannah Myles classic “Black Velvet” which made the judges conclude early that picking a winner in 2013 was not going to be a walk in the park. Mike Rossi’s energy got to the stage five minutes before he did and stayed long after his rendition of Green Day’s “Holiday.”

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One of Boyertown’s fine young voices, return contestant Naelee Rae went outside the box with a version of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” that would have made Art Garfunkel’s hair go straight with envy. Returning powerhouse Jessica Rodriguez expertly delivered the hard and the soft of Heart’s “Alone.” Changing genres for this year’s competition, Alicia Kandy took Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine” and made it her own to the sound of a cheering crowd. The cheers continued as another of Boyertown’s great young voices, Noah Scheffey, hit the stage tackling a newer Muse song, “Madness.” Singing everyone into the intermission, Cory Samsel’s version of the Disney classic “Part of Your World” was spot on and had everyone humming along.

As a special intermission treat, Mega Star Toys brought rising country star and yet another of Boyertown’s brightest young voices, Stephanie Grace, to the Idol stage for a visit to the delight of an adoring crowd. After three amazing songs, everyone was a fan. It was back to work then for the judges, who by this time were looking for a place to hide.

Hilda Hynes ignited the second half singing “Don’t Break Even,” made famous by The Script. Kristofer Hughes (who was jokingly accused of bringing a bus full of fans to pack the crowd) covered the only Michael Buble song in this year’s competition, “I Just Haven’t Met You Yet,” to the delight of the crowd.

Beyonce was represented this year by Danielle Wiedner, who brought “If I Were A Boy” to the stage in a big way. Continuing the pop offerings, Victoria Moyer converted at least one judge into a Karmin fan with the song “Broken Hearted.”

Charged with the dubious task of closing the show, Kelly Mullarkey was truly “Hell on Heels” as she hit the bullseye with Pistol Annie’s recent hit.

Retiring to the comfort (and relative safety) of Rita’s back room, the judges met to tally the scores. Calculators and iPads were handed around and numbers were added and added again until a winner emerged. Meanwhile, WRFY’s on air personality, Al Burke, took a break from the math to formulate next year’s Rita’s mystery flavor. (Needless to say the judges probably won’t be invited to use the Rita’s backroom again anytime soon.)

A nervous Adam Moyer returned to the stage to announce the winner. As in previous Boyertown Idol competitions, the numbers were as close as they could be and were in no way an overall reflection of the talent represented by any of the contestants. The judges all agreed that on any given day any of the contestants could have walked away the winner. But in the case of the 2013 Boyertown Idol, Mike Rossi’s performance ultimately took the crown.

After receiving congratulations and $500, a beaming Rossi carried out another Boyertown Idol tradition by joining Billy Joe Armstrong for an encore.

A look at the faces in the crowd was all it took to see how popular Boyertown Idol is. A look at Adam Moyer’s face was all it took to see that he is already looking forward to 2014.